It was hard to track the “negotiations” this summer between Jay Inslee and his million-dollar donors at the state employee unions, which is just how the union bosses (and the governor) wanted it to be. Didn’t want too many prying eyes keeping track of how Inslee was planning to spend taxpayer money, what with him in the middle of a re-election campaign and all.
And, now that the deal is done – at an estimated cost of a half billion dollars – the silence is even more deafening, beyond a little behind-the-scenes crowing in union offices about how rich a deal was struck.
Now it will be up to the next legislature to decide whether to fund Inslee’s “negotiated” pay raise package.
But they can rest assured that Inslee took care to keep future negotiations secret as well, so as not to have to bother legislators, the media, or the public with details of what is being negotiated, as you can see from this contract.
Just another secret deal “negotiated” by a governor allegedly committed to open government – if what’s being opened is your wallet on behalf of his campaign donors.
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